The night air was thick with tension, and the silence between each heartbeat felt unbearable. Luna’s breath came out in short gasps, her wrists burning where Will had gripped her mercilessly. She could see the police station only a few blocks away, glowing like a beacon of judgment. Every step closer meant another piece of her freedom slipping away, another chance of escape vanishing. Despair clung to her like a second skin—until a voice shattered the suffocating air.

“Run now, I’ll stop him!” Li’s cry thundered through the darkness as she appeared, almost out of nowhere, her eyes blazing with fury. For Luna, that moment felt like a miracle, an unexpected twist of fate. She stumbled backward, staring at Li in disbelief, her mind torn between relief and confusion. Li had always been strong-willed, unpredictable, someone who lived by her own rules. But this—this act of sacrifice—was something Luna had never anticipated.

Will froze for a brief second, his grip faltering as Li rushed toward him. “Li, don’t you dare,” he growled, anger flashing in his eyes. He knew what she intended, and it terrified him more than Luna’s betrayal ever had. Li didn’t slow down. Her determination was sharper than steel, her movements driven by sheer willpower. She had no weapon, no backup, only her courage and the desperate need to save Luna.

Luna’s heart pounded in her chest as she looked between them. Li and Will had once stood on the same side, allies in pursuit of truth. But tonight, that alliance shattered like glass under pressure. Li chose Luna over justice, loyalty over law. “Go!” she screamed again, thrusting herself into Will’s path. “Don’t waste this chance!”

Luna hesitated only a moment before her instincts took control. She turned and bolted down the nearest alley, her feet slamming against the ground, her lungs screaming for air. The world around her blurred—streetlights, shadows, even the sound of her own sobs. All she could focus on was escape, the echo of Li’s voice pushing her forward.

Behind her, chaos erupted. Will roared with rage as Li slammed into him, her body colliding with his like a force of nature. The two struggled violently, their shadows locked in combat beneath the flickering lights. Will was stronger, but Li was faster, her movements fueled by desperation. Every punch, every shove, every block was a declaration: she would not let him take Luna.

“Why, Li?” Will shouted, his grip tightening around her arm as he tried to shove her aside. “She betrayed us all! She’s a liar, a criminal!” His words were sharp, laced with grief as much as fury. But Li’s eyes burned with defiance.

“You don’t understand,” she spat, twisting out of his hold. “You think you know everything, but you don’t. Luna deserves a chance to explain. She deserves more than chains and accusations!” Her voice cracked with emotion, but her body did not falter. She struck him again, buying Luna more time with every second she fought.

Will’s heart ached with betrayal—first Luna, now Li. The two women he thought he could trust most had turned against him in the same night. Rage blinded him, but beneath it was sorrow, a hollow ache that nearly consumed him. “You’re making a mistake,” he said through gritted teeth, pushing her back hard. “You’ll regret this when the truth comes out.”

Li stumbled but didn’t fall. Her breath was heavy, her hair clinging to her damp face, but her stance was unyielding. “Maybe I will,” she whispered, her voice trembling but steady. “But I’d rather regret protecting her than regret doing nothing at all.”

Meanwhile, Luna’s legs burned as she pushed herself further into the labyrinth of the city. Her mind raced with questions she couldn’t answer. Why had Li risked everything for her? What did she hope to gain by turning against Will? Luna knew she had made mistakes—grave ones—but in that moment, someone still believed in her. That fragile belief gave her the strength to keep moving, even when every muscle screamed for her to stop.

The city swallowed her whole as she darted between narrow alleys and dark corners, trying to outrun the guilt that clung to her as tightly as Will’s grip once had. Every sound made her flinch—the distant wail of sirens, the thud of footsteps echoing too close behind, the crash of something breaking far away. Yet she kept going, driven by the single thought that Li’s sacrifice could not be wasted.